Hyderabad, Dec 19 (IANS) Hyderabad police have arrested two accused in ‘digital arrest’ case in which a senior citizen lost Rs 59 lakh. Cybercrime police arrested the accused who had supplied accounts to cheat the retired employee.

Surampudi Chandrasekhar (31) and Emandi Venkat Naveen (25), both residents of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh have been arrested

According to police on December 4, the victim received WhatsApp calls from unknown persons impersonating police and government officials. The fraudsters falsely alleged his involvement in human trafficking, overseas job fraud, and money laundering, and sent forged arrest warrants via WhatsApp to intimidate him. Under continuous threats of arrest, the victim transferred Rs. 59,00,300 through RTGS from his Union Bank of India account between December 4 and 6.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrimes) V. Arvind Babu said the accused impersonated as police/government officials, used WhatsApp calls and sent forged arrest warrants to create fear, forced victims to transfer money to multiple bank accounts, used malicious APK files to gain access to internet banking and SMS services, routed funds through shell firm accounts, converted them into cryptocurrency (USDT), and withdrew money via Binance P2P transactions into personal accounts.

The accused are part of an interstate cyber fraud racket. They procured and shared bank accounts for routing cheated funds. So far 15 current bank accounts have been facilitated to the prime accused. They received proceeds in cryptocurrency, later converted to Indian rupees. They assisted the prime accused by providing accounts and technical access.

The accused are involved in 65 cyber fraud cases nationwide, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and other states. The amount involved in these cases is Rs 8 crore.

Five of the cases related to Telangana – two each in Hyderabad and Cyberabad and one in Sangareddy.

Other accused are absconding. The arrested accused have been remanded to judicial custody, and further investigation is in progress.

Meanwhile, in a case of sextortion fraud, a man lost Rs.3.41 lakh. According to police, the victim received an unknown call from a woman identifying herself as Jyothi Gupta, who attempted to seduce him during the call. Subsequently, he received a video call from a person identifying himself as Vikram Goswami, wearing a uniform, who threatened to circulate the victim’s video on social media and damage his reputation.

Out of fear, the victim was coerced into making multiple payments on different occasions through Google Pay to one Manjeet Singh, on the assurance that the case would be closed and the amount refunded. Later, the accused also hacked the victim’s bank accounts, causing additional losses. The accused further intimidated him by falsely claiming the woman had died and demanded more money to avoid legal trouble.

Due to fear, social stigma, and helplessness, the victim suffered a total financial loss of Rs. 3,41,950, police said.

–IANS

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